The present invention relates to a hand-held tool for installing and/or removing a fastener, and more particularly, to a hand-held tool for installing and/or removing a fastener when access to the fastener is limited, for example, when replacing a roofing shingle that may be positioned underneath another shingle.
The roofs of houses and other buildings are commonly covered with various types of overlapping shingles to protect the underlying structure from direct exposure to the elements. These shingles are installed in rows, starting at the lower edge of the roof and moving upward. Accordingly, each succeeding row of shingles partially overlaps the prior row and completely covers the fasteners that attach the prior row to the roof substructure.
Conventional roofing shingle materials include wood, slate, metal, tile, fiberglass and asphalt. Asphalt shingles represent the most widely used form of residential roofing and cover four out of every five homes in the United States today. Asphalt shingles are typically made from an organic or fiberglass base that is saturated with an asphalt coating and surfaced with weather resistant mineral granules. Accordingly, asphalt shingles are typically durable, versatile and economical. Furthermore, asphalt shingles are generally pliant when new, making them easy to install. Over time, however, the effects of aging and exposure to the sun harden asphalt shingles to the point that even modest flexing can cause the shingles to break or permanently deform.
Asphalt shingle roofs can last up to 20 years before replacement, and damage to individual shingles during this time (for example, due to high winds or human traffic) is not uncommon. A widespread problem faced by roofing contractors is to replace an individual damaged shingle without damaging the overlapping undamaged shingle in the process.
One conventional method for replacing shingles includes sliding a flat-bladed shovel-like device under the damaged shingle to pry loose the fasteners attaching the damaged shingle to the roof substructure. Unlike a conventional claw hammer, the flat-bladed device can access the fasteners without bending the overlapping undamaged shingle to the point that the undamaged shingle breaks.
Once the fasteners have been removed, the damaged shingle may be slipped out from under the overlapping undamaged shingle and a replacement shingle slipped in underneath the overlapping shingle. At this point, the contractor must generally use to a conventional hammer to install the fasteners in the replacement shingle. Because it is desirable to cover the installed fasteners with the overlapping undamaged shingle, installation requires positioning the fastener on the replacement shingle while simultaneously bending the overlapping undamaged shingle far enough back to allow the contractor to strike the fastener with the hammer. Bending the undamaged shingle in this manner often breaks the undamaged shingle, forcing the user to repeat the entire process for two damaged shingles instead of just one.
The present invention is directed to methods and apparatuses for installing and/or removing fasteners. In one aspect of the invention, the apparatus can include a tool body with a fastener engagement portion toward a first end, a fastener removal portion toward a second end, and an impact surface located between the two ends. The fastener engagement portion can be offset from the impact surface in two directions and can have at least one fastener contact surface that is offset from and at least approximately parallel to the impact surface. The fastener engagement portion can be configured to releasably engage a fastener to install the fastener in a workpiece when a force is applied to the impact surface of the body. The fastener removal portion can also be offset from the impact surface in two directions, and can be configured to releasably engage an installed fastener to remove the fastener from a workpiece when a force is applied to the body.
In one aspect of the invention, the fastener engagement portion can further include first and second fastener guide surfaces. The first and second guide surfaces can be in a common plane and can be spaced apart from the fastener contact surface by a first gap distance sized to removably receive the head of a fastener. The first and second fastener guide surfaces also being spaced apart from each other by a second gap distance sized to removably receive the shank of the fastener. In a further aspect of the invention, the fastener removal portion can have first and second fingers extending away from the impact surface. The first finger of the fastener removal portion can include a first interior edge and the second finger can further include a second interior edge. The first and second interior edges can be in a common plane and can define a tapering gap that is sized to removably receive the shank of an installed fastener. In a still further aspect of the invention, the fastener removal portion toward the second end can be replaced with a scraper portion, a G-shaped pry-hook portion, or another fastener engagement portion, or the fastener removal portion can be eliminated.
In another aspect of the invention, a method for removing a fastener from a workpiece can include engaging a fastener between a first and second finger of an offset fastener removal portion of a fastener handling tool and applying a force to the tool body to remove the fastener from the workpiece. In a further aspect of the invention, the method can include engaging a fastener with an offset fastener engagement portion of a fastener handling tool inserting the offset fastener engagement portion into a confirmed space, positioning the engaged fastener on the workpiece, exposing an impact surface of the tool, and impacting the impact surface to drive the fastener into the workpiece.